Girls Sport 2007 VOLUME 7

Camberwell Girls Grammar School Fintona Girls School Firbank Grammar School Genazzano FCJ College Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School Kilvington Girls' Grammar Korowa Anglican Girls' School Lauriston Girls' School Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School Girls Grammar Mentone Girls' Grammar School Methodist Ladies' College Our Lady of Mercy College Presbyterian Ladies' College Ruyton Girls' School Sacré Coeur St Catherine's School St Margaret's School Shelford Girls’ Grammar Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Tintern Girls Grammar School Toorak College From the GSV President

It is with great pleasure this year that I assume the position of President of – for what a wonderful Association this is, working to provide high quality programs of both participation and excellence for the girls in our 24 Schools. Since its commencement in 2001, GSV has worked consistently to promote sport for girls in girls’ schools, and we are proud of the large numbers of girls who are currently engaged in such a wide range of sports and events. I congratulate all our girls for their positive engagement in sport this year. The teamwork and GSV Office sense of cooperation that permeate every GSV gathering are worthy of our commendation 86 Anderson Street, South Yarra 3141 and celebration! Phone: 9862 9260 Fax: 9862 9259 Together with the Principals of our 24 GSV Schools, and the Heads of Sport and sports staff, I Executive Officer acknowledge and recognise the contribution of our retired President of GSV, Mrs Margaret Webb. Ms Meredith Prime Mrs Webb led the GSV Association with great dedication over a period of four years. We wish her well in her retirement from Toorak College, and thank her for her work in the leadership and Sports Officers promotion of girls’ sport. Mrs Leonie Mawkes Ms Kelly Featherston Dr Susan Stevens, GSV President GSV Website www.gsv.vic.edu.au Nicole Livingstone Inspires at the Sports Captains’ Breakfast 2007

The annual GSV breakfast, hosted by St Catherine’s Content School on February 22, saw over one hundred 2007 2-3 President’s Report Sports Captains and other school sporting leaders come Sports Captains’ Breakfast together to share their leadership ideas and reflect on Acknowledgements the morning’s theme, “Leaders Leave a Legacy”. 4-7 Weekly Sport With the opportunity finally to put names to the familiar 8-10 Carnivals faces from so many years of shared GSV competition, 11 Tournaments our discussion throughout the Hall was animated, 12-13 Sports Skills Program particularly as we learnt of each others’ achievements, 14 Expos which on my table alone included State Athletics, Soccer 15-16 Photos and Netball representation as well as National Tennis and Hockey team selection. With world record-holding swimmer Nicole Livingstone as guest speaker, the inspirational theme of the morning was continued as we heard of her achievements, not only in the pool, Acknowledgements but also in the male-dominated world of sports commentary. Editor: Dr Ros Otzen Her encouragement to “get organised, plan ahead, encourage everyone [and] find your Publication Committee: Dr Helen McDonald, Mrs Helen Hughes, Dr Anne Sarros passion” was particularly relevant advice for our final year. A delicious breakfast was then Publication Officer: Mrs Leonie Mawkes thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and all girls departed two hours later ready and eager to GSV Logo: Mr Peter Court, Singleton, leave their legacy in the year ahead. Ogilvy and Mather. Design: Kerri Valkova Design Bridget Healy, Vice Sports Captain, St Catherine’s School Photography: provided by KIDS KLIX and participating schools.

Copyright: Girls Sport Victoria. All rights reserved. Except as provided by Australian copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Girls Sport Victoria.

2 Farewell to Two Inspirational Leaders

It is with more than a little sentimentality that the GSV office farewells two of the most significant contributors to the development and progression of Girls Sport Victoria as the State’s leading girls’ school sporting association: retiring Principals Mrs Christine Briggs and Mrs Margaret Webb. When recounting the story of the impetus behind the development of what, ultimately, became GSV, Mrs Christine Briggs often quotes “That Fateful Day” of 1999. It was a fateful day, and one in which an unwavering commitment to prioritising girls sport by a cluster of all-girls’ school Principals was to be sealed. It seems fitting then, that in the year of retirement for both Mrs Webb and Mrs Briggs that we acknowledge the contribution Committee of Management as a Principal each has made to Girls Sport Victoria. Representative and Vice President. During this time, Mrs Webb has been instrumental Mrs Briggs, along with recently retired PLC to the development and promotion of GSV Principal Mrs Elizabeth Ward and past Loreto through her passion in developing an Mandeville Hall Principal Dr Anne Hunt was a interest among students to be actively and key instigator and driver of the development regularly involved in sport. of Girls Sport Victoria. She was the Association’s founding President, a member Mrs Webb began her career in Education as of the Committee of Management for a total a Physical Education teacher and has always of four years and, as Principal of Melbourne been a staunch supporter of girls’ sport, Girls Grammar, host of the GSV office both at Toorak College and within the since 2000. whole of GSV. On “That Fateful Day” Mrs Briggs made a Her passion for girls’ sport is clearly commitment to girls’ sport and her passion demonstrated by an excerpt from the and commitment has never wavered. In the following poem, which she wrote with the two years leading up to the establishment of assistance of Jill Vines to commemorate the association she worked tirelessly with a our 5th anniversary in 2005: small team to ensure the process of melding Girls’ Sport Matters three existing associations into one was as smooth as possible. And, at all times, she was To be the GSV or not... that was the voice of reason, ensuring the original the question. vision for the new association remained 24 schools paramount. Heads of Sport and Principals In the early days, Mrs Briggs provided the Pitches, fields and courts, fledgling Association with the support and United for Girls’ Sport and the encouragement akin a new mother. But even belief that as the Association has grown and thrived, Girls’ Sport matters. she has remained very active in her support. Empty pitch, messy change rooms – After handing the President’s reigns over in Waiting, 2002, Mrs Briggs returned to the Committee For new dreams, of Management from 2005 - 2007. New goals, new friendships Mrs Briggs, we thank you. And just in case Young women being their best you were wondering: you have co-signed And striving to be more – over 2,300 GSV cheques since we began To be THE best in 2001! That is our Future, The Future of GSV – Mrs Webb, outgoing GSV President and To be the best we are, the best we can be. retiring Principal of Toorak College has also Of that there is no question. been a big contributor to the ongoing Because … progress of Girls Sport Victoria. Not only was Girls Matter! Mrs Webb the longest serving GSV President 3 (four years) but also served on the Meredith Prime, GSV Executive Officer

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Weekly Sport Term 4 2006 Weekly Sport

Basketball Term Four Weekly sport always seems to fly. Senior Basketball was wrapped up by the third week. OLMC continued their stellar run winning the Senior pennant, 26 to Toorak’s 22, and defeating Ivanhoe in the Intermediate A grade match and Star of the Sea in the B grade match. But in the Junior Basketball, Lowther Hall’s A grade team defeated Ivanhoe in a one-point thriller and Star of the Sea ran over Genazzano in the final minute of their B grade match to win 25 – 21.

Cricket In Cricket, Kilvington exploited the talents of their pennant-winning Senior Indoor Cricketers to make their first ever Field Cricket Grand Final. The Kilvington bowlers had Star of the Sea on the ropes early, but were not able to get the runs on the board in their innings and conceded to a triumphant Star team. Most of the Star of the Sea Cricketers have been playing together since Year 7 and have not lost a single match in their five years together. The final challenge will be to win their sixth successive pennant in 2007 so that the original Year 7 Star Juniors can end their school sports career undefeated in Field Cricket.

Junior Waterpolo Fourteen GSV schools now compete in the Junior Waterpolo competition (five of whom field two teams), and the standard of the competition continues to rise each year. There is no doubt the sport has consolidated itself and Lauriston and PLC, along with Loreto Mandeville Hall, MLC and Shelford have established themselves as the teams to beat. In 2006 the Grand Final results mirrored those of SENIOR A INTER A INTER B JUNIOR A JUNIOR B 2005: Lauriston prevailed in the A grade match but PLC Basketball OLMC OLMC OLMC Lowther Hall Star were too good for Lauriston Cricket Star Sacré Coeur in the B grade. Waterpolo Lauriston PLC

MLC Inters Blast Their Way Through Indoor Cricket 2007 was a blast! At MLC we had so many girls keen to play that we entered two Intermediate teams. We had a great season and because we were in the same zone, there was a bit of rivalry between us, especially once MLC1 beat my team, MLC2. We were all excited when both teams qualified for the Grand Final. I was unsure how my team, MLC2, would fare, but we were determined to give it our best shot, no regrets. Match time: MLC1 batted first, and, after making an impressive score of 110, my team knew we had to step up the intensity of our 16 overs with the bat. The first three batting pairs did their best and it was down to the final two batters to give it a stab and see what would happen. I think they surprised even themselves and, on the last ball, they needed a six for the win. With incredible composure it was hit! What an amazing experience, the 2s are so proud of each other, as I’m sure the 1s are, regardless of the result. It was the icing on the cake of an exceptional experience and something we won’t forget. 4 Bella Mentor, MLC

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Weekly Sport Term 1 2007 Weekly Sport

Softball Kilvington had a great start to GSV sport for 2007, adding a Junior Softball pennant to the display cabinet. In 2006 they won the school’s first ever GSV Softball pennant and the girls were particularly proud to win back-to-back titles. Firbank was ecstatic with their Intermediate Softball win. Having flirted with Grand Final success for five years since their first GSV Softball title in 2002, they finally managed to secure a second title in 2007. The Senior Softball pennant was won by Star of the Sea, traditionally strong in Softball.

Indoor Cricket The Indoor Cricket competition continues to develop. This season the competition was particularly strong with a number of schools fielding two teams. PLC were the standout team in the Senior competition finishing the season undefeated. The Intermediate and Junior Grand Final matches both went down to the wire, with MLC’s ‘second’ team defeating their ‘first’ team by just two runs, but their Junior team could not quite get on top of Genazzano, who were the eventual winners by three runs.

Tennis Teams that made Tennis finals had the added excitement of rubbing shoulders with Swimming legends with Melbourne Park remaining open throughout the FINA World Championships. With media surrounding Melbourne Park, a few girls may have wondered if their Tennis prowess might one day attract such attention. And why not, the GSV girls were impressive. Korowa won a tightly-fought match between Melbourne to take out the Senior A grade pennant, Tintern’s talented girls were dominant in their Intermediate A grade match and Star of the Sea worked hard to overcome a strong team from Lowther Hall in the Junior A grade match. Commendations to who had five of a possible seven teams qualify for the Grand Finals. Having played some of the closest matches of the finals series, it was their Junior C grade team who emerged victorious, bringing home a well-deserved pennant to share with the entire Tennis squad. Kilvington should also be congratulated for making their first ever Tennis Semi Final. Up against eventual winners Star, it was always going to be a big ask to reach the Grand Final, but they will be inspired to perform well again next year.

SENIOR A SENIOR B INTER A INTER B JUNIOR A JUNIOR B JUNIOR C Softball Star Firbank Tintern Kilvington Sacré Coeur Tennis Korowa Lauriston Tintern Firbank Star MLC Melbourne Indoor Cricket PLC MLC(2) Genazzano

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Weekly Sport Term 2 2007 Weekly Sport

Netball Term 2 is always wet and from the minute the first match was played, the rain threatened. Thankfully, for the most part, we managed to keep the darkest clouds at bay for the five weeks of home and away competition. But Thursday seemed to be the day for poor weather. The Junior Netballers playing at Duncan McKinnon and Waverley Netball Centres unfortunately copped the brunt of the cancellations, with two rounds sacrificed. Girls at the State Netball Centre played indoors to a reduced fixture twice, but no teams missed more than one match. Kingston seemed the least affected venue with girls only missing round one due to inclement weather, although they did enjoy getting back onto a warm bus! Star of the Sea College continued its reign on the Netball courts, winning seven of the eleven pennants on offer and made a clean sweep of the Intermediate matches. Genazzano was triumphant in the Senior A Grand Final match, defeating OLMC. It was Genazzano’s first Senior Netball pennant, although they have performed well in Intermediate and Junior GSV Netball in past years.

Hockey Lauriston, Melbourne, MLC and PLC dominated GSV Hockey in 2007 and were the only schools to qualify for the Grand Finals. Loreto Mandeville Hall continued to improve, making the Semi Finals for the third year in a row. Camberwell, Genazzano, and Toorak also made it through to the Semi Finals but could not overcome the power-house Hockey schools.

Open Waterpolo There is little doubt about Lauriston Girls’ School’s prowess in the Waterpolo pool, winning both the A and B grade Open Waterpolo pennants for the third year in a row. They now hold nine of the twelve Open Waterpolo titles ever Netball Results contested. A GRADE B GRADE C GRADE D GRADE E GRADE F GRADE Senior Genazzano Star Intermediate Star Star Star Junior Star Star Strathcona Star Tintern OLMC

Waterpolo Results Hockey Results

DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 A GRADE B GRADE Open Lauriston Lauriston Senior Lauriston Intermediate MLC Melbourne Junior MLC Lauriston

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Weekly Sport Term 3 2007 Weekly Sport

Soccer Soccer: It’s non-contact, but still very physical; it demands a high level of skill; and it’s a great sport for developing fitness. So it’s no surprise that Soccer has been growing in popularity. While it is an optional GSV sport, all 24 schools participate and each year more schools field at least one team for each age group. Loreto Mandeville Hall must be going a bit Soccer-mad - they entered four Junior, four Intermediate and two Senior teams! Firbank, OLMC and Star of the Sea deserve recognition for having qualified in GSV Soccer finals every year since 2001. Congratulations also to Camberwell Girls Grammar, who, after making their first ever Soccer final in 2006, went one better and won the Junior Grand Final against Firbank. But Firbank had their moment to shine, defeating Tintern 2-0 in the Intermediate Grand Final. In the Senior competition Star of the Sea were too good for PLC, taking home the pennant.

Badminton The Badminton competition continues to attract more teams each year. PLC takes the honours for their dominance in the sport, having won at least one Badminton pennant every year since GSV began. In 2007 they were victorious in the Senior Grand Final, defeating MLC by just one game! Firbank also has a proud history in Badminton and in another one-game thriller they overcame PLC in the Intermediate Grand Final match. MLC, Sacre Coeur, Shelford and Toorak College are all strong in Badminton and made the 2007 Finals series in at least one age group. Sacré Coeur’s girls set the benchmark for Junior Badminton, comfortably winning both their Semi Final and Grand Final matches. Congratulations to Tintern, whose Senior girls made the school’s first GSV Badminton Final, and Camberwell, who added a Finals berth in both Badminton and Volleyball to their Soccer success.

Volleyball The quality of the GSV Volleyball competition seems to get better every year, with a number of schools developing very strong Volleyball squads. The Finals series was intense, with the outcome of a number of matches being determined by the umpires whistle at full time. The Senior Grand Final match was particularly hard fought between Toorak College and Melbourne Girls Grammar, and after 60 minutes of tight competition, both teams agreed to play on for a result. Toorak College eventually prevailed defeating Melbourne 2 sets to 1. OLMC were too good for MLC in the Intermediate Grand Final but could not overcome a strong team from Star of the Sea in the Junior match.

SENIOR A SENIOR B INTER A INTER B JUNIOR A JUNIOR B Badminton PLC Firbank Sacré Coeur Soccer Star of the Sea Firbank MLC Camberwell OLMC Volleyball Toorak Melbourne OLMC Ivanhoe Star of the Sea OLMC

Lauriston Thanks their Waterpolo ‘Guru’ When a school has the good fortune to employ a staff member who has a passion for a particular sport, their passion permeates the school’s entire sporting culture. Twenty-two years ago, Maths teacher and Waterpolo expert Jeanette Gunn joined the Lauriston academic staff and the school’s Waterpolo destiny was consequently decided. Now the Manager of the Australian Women’s Waterpolo team, Ms Gunn is to be credited with Lauriston’s long term Waterpolo success. One valuable philosophy she has injected into Lauriston, is to be all-inclusive. Apart from weekly team training, the squad comes together each week, giving girls from all year levels the chance to build friendships and for the younger girls to be inspired by the skills of our more experienced girls. Lauriston Old Girls mentor current students and senior students take on leadership roles with the junior teams. Lauriston’s Water Polo players acknowledge their debt to Ms Gunn, for her endless support, unwavering standards, boundless encouragement and the time she puts into Waterpolo, not just at Lauriston, but the 7 sport as a whole.

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Carnivals Diving and Swimming Melbourne can certainly lay claim to being the Australian Capital of International Sporting Events: This year the 2007 FINA World Championships took over Melbourne’s MSAC leaving regular users to scramble for outdoor pool access. Luckily for our Divers and Swimmers, GSV secured the newly renovated Boroondara Sports Complex. With warm weather throughout the Swimming and Diving season, the venue was a refreshing change from the more humid confines of an indoor complex - even more refreshing for our Divers – their pool wasn’t heated! The venue might have changed but MLC and Firbank’s stranglehold on the Swimming and Diving trophies respectively, did not loosen. MLC won their seventh successive Swimming title and Firbank secured their sixth Diving trophy. Their ongoing success in the pool is a credit to them, and with both schools winning the Junior Division in their favoured disciplines, they will remain the schools to beat for some years yet. Loreto Mandeville Hall, the big improvers for 2007, came second in the Division One Swimming Carnival, and achieved their best ever Diving result, winning the Division Two Championship trophy. OLMC also had a great Championship with a Division Three Trophy their best ever Swimming result. OLMC Swimming Coach Damien Coonan said the whole school community had worked hard to get the Swimming program on track. “We established a swimming leadership team with girls from each year chosen to instil a sense of excitement and fun into swimming at OLMC. We had a massive increase in numbers at training and there was this great hype surrounding the swim team. With the girls training more, they began to see their times coming down and consider themselves good swimmers. We set ourselves the goal of a top three finish in Division Three, and on Championship day, the girls were rapt to actually hold the trophy.” After a year without the Swimming and Diving Finals Evening (due to the 2006 Commonwealth Games) the 2007 event was welcomed back onto the calendar. Championship Swimming Results The best of the best across the three Championship Carnivals competed against each other. Congratulations to Firbank Grammar School who topped the Gold DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3 medal tally (10) and total medal tally (18) at the Finals Evening. St Catherine’s 1st Place MLC Tintern OLMC School performed above expectation with the second highest Gold Medal Tally (8) for the night. 2nd Place Loreto Star of the Sea Shelford GSV also congratulates St Margaret’s who, having competed in 3rd Place Firbank Melbourne Mentone Division Three Swimming and Diving Carnivals, came 9th overall in the Gold medal tally. St Margaret’s Head of Sport Championship Diving Results Michaela Kelly said the girls who competed at the Finals DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3 Evening really enjoyed the opportunity to pit themselves against the best of GSV’s Swimmers and Divers and they 1st Place Firbank Loreto & Ruyton Ivanhoe returned to school to great celebrations. 2nd Place Strathcona OLMC 3rd Place MLC Lauriston Mentone

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Carnivals Cross Country The GSV Cross Country season continues to grow in popularity with the camaraderie of school training programs enticing girls to running, initially as a fitness opportunity, but often leading them to develop a taste for competitive running and a place in their school’s ‘race team’. This year, they certainly needed to be enjoying the camaraderie. Early Autumn rainfall was a welcomed drought-breaker but did put a dampener on many a training session and several PB meets. But when it came time for the GSV Carnivals, the rain stayed away and the girls got to race without the elements impeding their performances. Ruyton took the Division One trophy for the fifth year in a row, and achieved their goal of being the first GSV school to score less than 200 points. Ruyton, MLC and Melbourne have now competed in Division One every year since GSV commenced in 2001. Genazzano has competed in six of the seven Division One Carnivals and Star of the Sea in five. Ruyton: Running Staying on top in a sporting organisation the size of GSV is not easy and requires the dedication of the students, coaches and school staff alike. MLC’s Sam Carberry, who won Away With It All the GSV Senior Cross Country event, said it had been a highlight for her. Ruyton’s Cross Country team have been a “It’s an exciting sport that involves a lot of dedication and commitment and I have made formidable force for the past five years so many good friends. For me, the hard training all pays off at our final race, the and now we know why they have been Championship Carnival, which brings out the best in all the girls and is lots of fun. I have unbeatable locally – they are, quite loved being part of the Cross Country team and am looking forward to 2008, my final year!" simply, world class! Julia Nettle, who has been in the Melbourne Girls Grammar GSV Cross Country Having achieved unparalleled success at team for the past six years, said that the support within the team is GSV level and State Championships the Melbourne’s strength. “We help each other through training and competition girls were keen to see where they sat at even if one of us is suffering. We know how hard we have trained together, an international level. and even though on race day our efforts are individual ones, it is as a team What they discovered, amazed even that we flourish.” themselves. Taking part in track meets Cross Country Aggregate Results across California, the girls won Silver in the teams section at the Carlsbad DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3 5000 – the most prestigious 5km road race in the world. They then 1st Place Ruyton Strathcona Tintern ran a nine sec PB to finish fifth 2nd Place Lauriston Loreto Ivanhoe in the 4 x 800m relay in the Arcadia Invitational. The 3rd Place MLC PLC St Margaret’s girls improved their 4 x 1 mile time by an amazing 32 seconds to snare the Silver medal in the Mount Sac relays. The team included Holly Aitken, Perri Burns, Georgia Chalmers, Aphra Cheesman, Madeleine Cleeve Gerkens, Sarah Clements, Elizabeth Gray, Phoebe Grimwade, Camille Hudson, Emma Lewis, Emily Norris and Elizabeth Olayos. Stop Press: The Under 17 team of Holly, Sarah, Madeleine, Camille, Emily and new member Sophie Perry, representing both Ruyton and Victoria, have just won the National Championships and will now represent at the ISF World Cross Country Championships to be held in April 2008 in the Czech Republic. What an achievement!!!! 9

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Carnivals Track and Field There’s no hibernation for GSV Track and Field competitors: through the depths of winter you’ll find them training their hardest, in preparation for the August and September GSV Track and Field Season. First up is the series of PB meets, designed to give girls their first taste of interschool competition for the season and help coaches refine their teams. Next comes the Preliminary Carnivals, but schools Track & Field Results can’t rest on their laurels, as their performance at ‘Prelims’ determines what Championship Division they qualify for. DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3 By the Championships, girls are peaking, and this is where we 1st Place Star of the Sea MGGS Genazzano see the most records broken. In fact this year 11 GSV records 2nd Place MLC Korowa Mentone were broken at Championships! Star of the Sea won the Division One Carnival for the seventh successive year. To put into context 3rd Place Ruyton Firbank Tintern their excellence in Track and Field, they won 107 medals (55 Gold) from 178 events!!!! MLC, who are never far from the Track and Field Dais, came second, and Ruyton third. Well done to Ruyton who won the Junior Trophy, their first ever age group Track and Field Trophy. They are the only school, other than Star of the Sea, to have won an age group trophy. Korowa were big improvers, jumping six places from last year to come second in Division Two. Sacre Coeur also improved their first place in Division Three from 2006 to come 5th in the 2007 Division Two Carnival. The last event on the GSV Track and Field Calendar, the Finals Evening, is unique. GSV invites the best 10 competitors from each event, regardless of the Division their school competed in, to participate in the Finals Evening. This is a special honour for the girls, who are recognised for their individual achievements. Star of the Sea continued to showcase their talents on both the Track and Field, winning 38 of the 78 medals awarded. But the Finals Evening always brings a few unexpected results and 2007 was no exception. Firbank, who finished a creditable third in the Division Two Championship, performed above expectation to win the third highest number of Gold medals across all 24 schools. Korowa also did well on the medal tally, with some outstanding results from their athletes. Congratulations to all the girls who train so hard throughout the year, firstly to make their school teams and then perform at their best. You all deserve a medal for getting out there and giving it a go, especially in the middle of winter!

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Tournaments Basketball The GSV Senior Basketball Tournament attracts teams from 18 GSV schools. The competition is split across two Round Robin days. The first is held at the end of Term 2 and identifies the top four teams who compete in the Finals at the beginning of Term 3. In 2006 MLC, Genazzano, Strathcona and Korowa qualified for the Finals. Both MLC and Genazzano were undefeated after the first two rounds and played off in the final round to determine the winner. The match was a thriller, with both schools staying within a couple of points of each other until the dying minutes of the match when MLC pulled away to win 32 – 25.

Netball In August GSV played host to the secondary schools representative Netball team, the first time GSV has competed against a representative state team in any sport. GSV held trials to identify our best Netballers and created two teams of equal strength to compete against the Queensland team. Unfortunately, with our talents divided between two teams, we were not strong Lord Taverner’s enough to overpower the Queenslanders in either match. Cricket Cup However, the girls were thrilled with the opportunity to represent The Lord Taverner’s Cup is held in late GSV and keen for the tradition to November every year. In 2006 both continue. We look forward to Star of the Sea College and Kilvington creating more opportunities for represented GSV in the Cup. In a twist of GSV girls to compete against fixturing fate, both schools played and state representative teams in defeated Aquinas College but were the future. outplayed by eventual Cup winners Norwood Secondary College.

2006 Ambrose Golf Event 2007 Stableford Event The GSV Golf Event is a delightful way to bring the The exquisitely groomed Metropolitan Golf Course sporting year to a close and 2006 was no exception. was the venue for the Past and Present Students Blessed with perfect weather 11 teams enjoyed the Stableford Golf event in February this year. Sixteen hospitality of the Kew Golf Club for the nine-hole teams entered the nine-hole competition but three Ambrose event. While girls of all Golfing abilities are teams of particularly talented golfers battled it out encouraged to participate, the standard was for overall honours. In the end Mentone took the impressive and the eventual winners from Lauriston team title with 52 Stableford points and Melbourne played a very tidy round to finish on 32. For the and Toorak shared second place just one uninitiated, that’s less than 4 shots per hole! A point behind. combined team from Strathcona and Tintern were Lee Park, a crucial member of the victorious second on 37 and PLC and Toorak College tied for Mentone team shared the individual Stableford third place with 38. Lauriston’s Priya Khanna was a trophy with Tintern’s Charlotte Ganderton. With double winner also taking out the nearest the pin a handicap of 9 and 14 respectively, keep an competition, and Toorak’s Melissa Hui won the prize eye on both girls, as they clearly have exciting for the longest drive. golfing futures ahead of them. 11

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 GSV Skills Development Program Golf The Golf Skills Program attracted a new group of young Golfers in 2007, with many girls trying the sport for the first time. After four weeks of tutelage at the Melbourne Golf Academy, they were able to put into practice their new found skills, playing nine-hole rounds of Golf at Royal Park Public course and the prestigious Commonwealth Golf Course. The Skills Program led into the Parent/Daughter Golf competition in Term 2 in which a record 20 teams competed (most of whom had already participated in the Golf Skills Program), as well as the GSV Ambrose Golf competition which is held in Term 4. Beach Volleyball In Term 4 last year over 70 girls participated in GSV’s first Beach Volleyball Skills Program. During the four week program they learned how to serve into or with the wind, as well as running and diving in the soft beach sand, at South Melbourne Beach. In the final week the girls tested their new skills in a round of social matches. The Beach Volleyball program was one of the most enjoyable and social of all the 2006 Sports Skills Programs and quite a few girls were considering joining one of the many social Beach Volleyball competitions around the metropolitan area. After a hugely successful first year, Beach Volleyball is returning to the GSV Sports Skills Program in Term 4 this year. We hope even more girls take the opportunity to explore this fun sport.

Surf League The GSV Surf League training sessions boasted the highest participation rates of all the GSV Skills Development Programs. The training sessions covered beach sprints, beach flags, surf swimming and board paddling and lead into Life Saving Victoria’s School Surf League. Despite a scorching 37°C for the first twilight session, over 160 girls flocked to South Melbourne beach. With the sand dangerously hot, the girls concentrated on perfecting their water based skills. Given that ‘flopping into the water’ isn’t an official Surf League event, the coaches did well to keep the girls focussed on practicing their racing water entries! The weather was a little more hospitable for the second twilight session which ran as a mini carnival. There is nothing like the start of a Surf Swim race to test the mettle of those swimmers used to the luxury of their own pool lane!

Fencing Over 50 girls took part in the third GSV Fencing Skills Program and it was great to see large contingents of girls from both Lowther Hall and Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar. But it was equally pleasing that some girls had come alone or with only one other girl from their school. Fencing is a specialised sport and requires equally the mental skills of strategy and anticipation, and physical skills of agility and coordination. Julien Mouchet from Fencing Victoria again had the girls captivated, with his subtle French humour and expert instruction. Fencing Victoria has been particularly pleased that a number of graduates from the GSV Skills Program have since joined their local Fencing Club, a key objective of the GSV Sport 12 Skills Program.

Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 m AFL GSV’s girls continue to prove that AFL is not just a sport for boys. Every year the AFL Skills Program attracts a core of over 100 girls who take delight in the physicality of the sport. There aren’t many other sports in which girls can showcase the skill, strength and grit required in the running tackles and contested marks of AFL. The girls who have been participating in the GSV program for a number of years have become adept at the sport and the 2007 Tournament was a spectacle of skill and determination. St Catherine’s and Lowther Hall both fielded particularly strong Senior teams and after drawing their Round Robin match, and both winning their subsequent matches, the final result came down to percentage, with St Catherine’s holding out narrowly over Lowther Hall. However, Lowther Hall was to be victorious in the Junior Tournament. Congratulations to all the girls who participated but particularly Simone Bercelli, Alicia Sabarto, Sam Flores and Sherini Oliva all from Lowther Hall, who received certificates for their fourth successive year of participation. Triathlon After a two-year hiatus, the Triathlon Skills Program was back on the calendar in 2007. Phoebe Plays The girls spent the first three weeks of the program at Genazzano learning the key skills for Victoria for a Triathlon competitor, including bike In 2006 we published an article by maintenance and efficient transitions between 2003 Melbourne Girls Grammar Sports each discipline. Captain Phoebe McWilliams, who had The training culminated in a mini Triathlon at enjoyed the AFL Skills Program so Genazzano. For the first time the program also much during her school years that she took advantage of two community run events: joined the Victorian Women’s Football the Splash ’n Dash Aquathon (a 1.25km run, League once she finished Year 12. 300m swim and 1.25km run); and a 1.6km This year Phoebe was selected to play Open Water Swim at Hampton Life Saving for Victoria in the 2007 AFL Women’s Club. The girls who completed the Open National Championships. Phoebe Water Swim should be congratulated for their contributed a goal and plenty of assists commitment and perseverance in the rough in the team’s 51 point win over water – the race was held on the same day in the Championship that the Women’s Open Water Swim at the match. Well done Phoebe! You are an FINA World Swimming Championships was cut inspiration to all the GSV girls who are short due to extreme conditions! considering competitive sport after their school life.

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007 Year 7 Sports Expos

The Year 7 Expo, now in its seventh year, exposes GSV’s girls to a wide range of sport and recreational activities. The Expo is designed to encourage girls to enjoy the fun, non-competitive aspects of sport. More than 1,100 students from 15 schools came along to the 2007 Year 7 Sports Expos and tried several of the 34 different sports on offer. Some of the more unusual sports to run sessions at the Expos were Wheelchair Sports, Footbag, Ultimate Frisbee, Jump Rope for Heart and Beach Tennis. Year 8 Ball Skills Festival

The Year 8 Ball Skills Festival, now in its third year, has become a highlight of the GSV calendar, especially for those girls who enjoy the non-competitive, skills development aspects of the Festival. Instructors from Fun Football got the ball rolling with a series of fun- filled skills development sessions. The Instructors’ energy and passion for their ‘crazy’ ball sports is infectious and the girls giggle their way through giant obstacle courses, learn to take flying catches and giant headers as well as playing Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball with huge, inflatable sticks, balls and nets! The second half of the day is filled with skills development sessions for a wide variety of ball sports from the more traditional such as Cricket and Softball to less traditional sports including Canoe Polo and Beach Tennis.

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Girls Sport Victoria Magazine 2007